Anyone that’s been following the news knows it’s been an interesting time in New York City governance, to say the least. At the state level, Governor Hochul killed congestion pricing at the last second, and now a federal indictment of Mayor Adams has made things even more complicated.
Despite that, every day thousands of city employees show up and put in the hard work it takes to make urban life — transportation, the environment, public space, delivery logistics — function a bit better. That’s why I was so excited to sit down with Dawn Miller, Senior Advisor to NYC's Chief Climate Officer, about all the amazing mobility initiatives still being pushed forward: the electrification of delivery and micromobility, a climate resilience plan, reducing indirect emissions, and so much more.
Prior to her current role, Dawn served as Deputy Chief of Staff to the Mayor, VP of Policy and Partnerships at Coord and Chief of Staff at the Taxi and Limousine Commission, so she also shares a number of helpful insights into how to sell a mobility or curb solution to government. Listen in!
Curbivore presents an LA TechWeek happy hour for the brightest minds from the worlds of mobility, delivery, urbanism, foodtech, and govtech at a unique venue on the west side. If you're a founder, funder, builder, policymaker, or just a tinkerer trying to improve how people and goods move about our cities — this is the event for you!
HOT INDUSTRY NEWS & GOSSIP
Curb contracts: Modii moves ahead with a new digital parking solutions contract at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Meanwhile, ParkMobile scores a deal in Plainfield, New Jersey to digitize 300 on and off-street spots.
Tooting our own horn! We’re delighted to share that Industry Dive just named Curbivore 2025 as one of the top nine “trade shows to attend in 2025.” Perhaps that should motivate you to scoop up some super early bird tickets? Or better yet, check out our event prospectus and reach out about partnering with us.
Completestreetifornication… Good news for the Golden State, as Gov. Newsom signed SB 960 into law. The legislation, authored by State Senator Scott Wiener, aims to make Caltrans better consider the needs of bicyclists and pedestrians when repairing roadways it manages. They might be the “highway department” but they also control plenty of urban boulevards like Santa Monica Blvd in LA or Van Ness Ave in SF; if you’ve ever tried biking on those roads you know they leave plenty to be desired.
Next up, trick or treat candy delivery? Uber just signed a new partnership with Spirit Halloween, promising to bring vital necessities like Adult Ghost Face Pink Bling Dress Costume (Adult Large) straight to your door, so you don’t have to worry about whether or not it’s actually a good idea to wear it or not.
From boo to blue: Plans to extend Minneapolis’ Blue Line light rail took a big step forward, as all four participating cities just signed off on its proposed design. Minneapolis-St. Paul has one of the nation’s best performing LRT systems, in terms of ridership per mile, and this would extend the network by about 50%. Might make a good photo op for Walz too?
Transit-oriented entertainment: Speaking of transportation, friends of the curb Streets For All, Have A Go and Terenig Topjian are working on a colorful new initiative to show transit-skeptics all the fun places that public transit can take you. Check it out!
Talk about defensive driving: Germany’s Fernride has raised over $60 million to automate electric trucking in ports and logistics yards. Now the company thinks there’s more money to be made in selling its tech to the military.
Go Metro: LA’s Metro just notched its 21st consecutive month of ridership growth, putting its boarding count at 84.7% of pre-pandemic figures. Key to that growth has been a robust rebound on weekends — Sundays now see 98% of the ridership they got back in 2019 — a lesson that too many agencies seem to have lost, with other instead opting to cut non-work related trips.
The corner store comeback: Across the country, cities are remembering the importance of local corner stores. Not only do they often foster a sense of community, they can be key to facilitating street life and reducing the need to drive. Now some cities are looking to re-legalize commercial uses in any structure that once hosted a little shop or restaurant, while others are instead opting to let them into new structures in old neighborhoods.
Walkable movie set urbanism: Congrats to the LA Times on another amazing Food Bowl, reminding us that the combination of a classic street-wall plus great food and drink is always a perfect combo. More photos here.
A few good links: WeWork’s Adam Neumann is back with yet another coworking concept. More data on how we over-corrected on housing post-2008 crash, and who the supply deficit hurts the most. Some very groovy 1970s era advertisements for BART. Flexport cutting workforce by 2%. Dunno if this is the right kind of state capacity… Mexico’s new President says the Army will continue to be involved in infrastructure construction, that’s big bucks given all the new train lines in the works.
Until next week!
- Jonah Bliss & The Curbivore Crew
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